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Episode 53 - Pinball Metamorphosis: The System 11 Era Pt.1
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago46 min listen
Highlights
- System 11 was designed and developed by Larry DeMar, arguably the single most valuable employee at Williams during this era.
- High Speed sold 17,000 units and was the first System 11 game released in January 1986.
- High Speed was nicknamed 'High Cost' by many at Williams due to increased build materials.
- Steve Ritchie's High Speed backglass art was based on a true story of him driving his 1979 Porsche 928 at 149 mph through a cop speed trap.
- Grand Lizard was originally developed as a System 9 game, then pushed back and reconfigured as a System 11 game, causing a disjointed art package.
- Pat Lawlor built Banzai Run (originally titled Wrecking Ball) in his garage to earn a job at Williams.
- Banzai Run sold only 1,750 units, which is surprisingly low for a game that pioneered Pat Lawlor's career.
- PinBot sold 12,000 units and is considered one of the great pinball machines of the System 11 generation.
- Partyzone sold 9,400 units and was the fourth best-selling game of the System 11 era.
- Chris Granner composed the sound package for Grand Lizard, marking his first game work in the industry.
Notable quotes
“System 11 is the last arcade pinball machines ever made in real time. Everything past this is kind of like a video game.”
“Larry DeMar... arguably did more to advance the game of pinball than anyone else.”
“It's the cult of the new, man. It's just like any game this old even making the top 100 is unbelievable.”
“Road Kings should be [lowest rated]. Yeah, true.”
“PinBot... these are still fairly cheap games. I think they're fucking awesome.”
“I was the only one in the art room at the time and I had the TV on [when Challenger exploded]. It was terrible and ironic at the same time. I was actually painting the small space shuttle on the right of the back glass when it happened.”
“An amusement park under glass. That's how he described pinball to people he worked with when he was lucid.”
“No game had a hold on me in my childhood like Banzai Run... as a child it was just, it felt impossible.”
“This game sucks, okay? Like, I hate this game. I don't... I'm not going to belabor it, but like, I dislike this game and I love Mark Ritchie.”
“It's like the giving tree. The blueprint... everybody's taken from poor road kings.”
Entities
- Bally· company
- Williams· company
- Banzai Run· game
- Grand Lizard· game
- High Speed· game
- PinBot· game
- Pinside· organization
- Wedgehead· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex· person
- Barry Ousler· person
- Bill Futsenbuehrer· person
- Chris Granner· person
- Ed Boon· person
- Eugene Jarvis· person
- Jerry Armstrong· person
- John Krutsch· person
- Larry DeMar· person
- Mark Ritchie· person
- Pat Lawlor· person
- Python Anghelo· person
- Steve Kirk· person
- Steve Ritchie· person
- Tim Elliot· person
- Ty Palmer· person
